Hamdani Saidi and Habibu Uthman (2012), Membranes from Radiation grafted poly–(1–vinylimidazole)–poly(ethylene–alt–tetrafluoroethylene) doped with heteropoly acids for high temperature fuel cell, Proceedings of the Conference on Emerging Energy & Process Technology, CONCEPT 2012, Lotus Desaru, Johor Bahru, Malaysia, December 5

Abstract

Composite membranes containing heteropoly acids (HPAs)/phosphoric acid (PA) for possible use in fuel cell were prepared by radiation grafting of 1-vinylimidazole (1-VIm) and 2-methyl-1-vinylimidazole (2-M-1-VIm) crosslinked during grafting reaction with various percentages of triallyl cyanurate (TAC) and diisopropenylbenzene (DIPB) onto poly(ethylene-alt-tetrafluoroethylene) (ETFE). Improvement in the chemical and mechanical stability of membrane is often ensured by crosslinking. Protonation with PA doping followed. HPAs are proposed for doping of the grafted precursors as an alternative to PA doping as a way of creating more robust proton network because of the fact that HPAs have larger molecular size they are believed to be more leaching resistant than PA molecules. A comparative study based on proton conduction at elevated temperature (above 100oC) of both dopants (HPAs and PA0 is proposed in which the effects of doping reaction on the doping level will be study, optimize and model. Optimization of reaction parameters of radiation induced grafting of 1-VIm and 2-M-1-VIm onto ETFE using response surface method is proposed. Preparation procedure involve three steps: (i) ETFE films has been irradiated by an electron beam at Nuclear Malaysian Agency (NMA), (ii) grafting of 1-VIm and 2-M-1-VIm onto irradiated ETFE films under selected conditions is ongoing and (iii) doping of the grafted ETFE films with HPAs and PA. Membrane characterization: will be evaluated using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, small-angle neutron scattering, small-angle X-ray scattering, wide-angle X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy respectively. Overall results to be obtained is expected to suggest that the produced membrane possess a promising combination of physicochemical properties appealing for possible